You Were Meant For The Exceptional

As a pastor, I often have the opportunity to counsel people as they navigate some of life's challenges.  And I  would have to say that some of the saddest things I  hear begin with these words:

"If I'd only..."

So many of us live with the pain of regret.  We look back on our life, and can see with the benefit of hindsight all of the things we should have done, the decisions we could have made, the paths we ought to have taken.

But how many of us really learn from our past?  How many of us actually act differently based on our experiences?

From what I've seen, most of us will express our regrets over our past inability to leap in faith, to move forward with courage, to confidently choose a better path... but then we'll continue to make those same mistakes over and over again.

Mostly because we believe we aren't capable of doing anything exceptional.

Far too many of us will find ourselves with tremendous opportunities, moments of great decision and destiny, and we become like the protagonist in W.H. Auden's poem "The Average," who acted thusly:

He saw the shadow of an Average Man /Attempting the Exceptional, and ran. 

I want you to check this out with me.  There is a passage of Scripture in the Gospel of John which is commonly known as Jesus' Farewell Discourse to his followers.  One of the things that Jesus wanted his followers to know was this:

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Jesus wanted his followers to know that what he was about to send them out into the world to do was to realize the greater purpose that he'd come to fulfill...

To embolden and equip his followers to share the good news that God was for everyone... to embody the Kingdom of God to the world... to show the world what it looks like when God gets what God wants... 

And to love... to speak grace and peace... to end cycles of violence... to bring healing and wholeness to those who are sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Shall I go on?   

You were made for greater things.  Any great leaps of faith that you are being challenged to make will only serve to draw your closer to fulfilling your unique holy purpose.  

Don't be afraid of the exceptional.  You were meant for it.  

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.